Fix Unidentified Network and No Network Access in Windows 7

Recently, I was helping a client with Windows 7 who was unable to connect to his home wireless network one day even though it had been working fine for a few months. When he went to Network and Sharing Center, he had the following listed:

Instead of his normal network connection, it said Unidentified Network and No Internet Access and sure enough, he could not connect to the Internet! The same thing showed up in the taskbar icon for network connections:

I’ve seen this problem on a couple of Windows 7 machines and depending on your system, there are multiple possible solutions. Try each one listed below and check to see if it fixe your problem before moving on.

Method 1 – Disable McAfee Network Agent

One common culprit has been the McAfee Network Agent service. You can disable the service by going to Start, typing in MSCONFIG and then clicking on the Services tab. Find McAfee Network Agent and uncheck the box.

It also might be a good idea to disable any third-party firewall like McAfee firewall or Norton firewall, etc.

Method 2- Update Your Network Card Driver

You can update your driver in one of two ways: either via Windows or by downloading the driver yourself manually from the manufacture’s website. I highly recommend downloading the latest driver yourself as Windows usually does not do a very good job, but here are the instructions in case you want to try it.

Click on Start, type in devmgmt.msc, press Enter and then expand Network Controllers and right-click on the problem network card.

Now click on the Driver tab and choose Update Driver.

If that doesn’t work, you can also uninstall the network driver and then reinstall it after a restart. This has also been known to fix the problem with some people. Note that Windows will automatically reinstall the driver for you. In case it does not, you can always download the latest driver and then install it.

Links

Hi!

The blog "Alvistec" aims to positioning itself as a recurring site for consultation, in alternative technologies. The Alvistec blog aims so that becomes one most visited sites of tech enthusiasts that contributes to facilitates and to spreads the use of free software, electronics reuse; among other topics.

Caution!: This site is not liable for any damage caused to people or equipment with the information it is exposed. All content is purely informational purposes and is not intended to be a guide. The presented material has been used solely for training purposes and/or entertainment. Viewer discretion is advised.